London Photo Display Celebrates ‘Rites of Life’

London

Fifty dramatic color photographs of ceremonies and events, ranging from birth to death, as celebrated by the world’s modern and traditional societies will grace illuminated screens at More London Riverside, a development on the south bank of the River Thames, through Sept. 6.

Shot by the Swedish photographer Anders Ryman, the “Rites of Life” series, which is on display along the riverside between City Hall and the HMS Belfast, highlights all sorts of life events in cultures around the world.

Hoping to cover every inhabited continent, major religion and stage in life, Mr. Ryman spent more than seven years on the project, which won the support of Unesco. Images from Ethiopia, Spain and Micronesia illustrate birth customs; others, from Turkey, Thailand, Norway and South Africa, show various sorts of initiation ceremonies; still other highlight weddings in Nepal and Morocco. Finally, end of life rituals are captured in Bolivia, India and Madagascar.

A veteran traveler, who has lived in many cultures, Mr. Ryman said he feels welcome everywhere he travels. “Basically we are all the same, all part of the same humanity,” he said. “I chose to focus on life cycle rituals because they are something that unites us all, although in modern society there may not be as many or as elaborate as before. You cannot imagine a human society without them.”